U Can't Touch This
by Sir Marrok's Wife
Summary: It's not polite to steal someone's memories, powers, and life force. Especially if they're going to obsessively love you for it afterwards. AU of Movie/TV show blend. Rated for coarse language, adult themes, and my for own personal paranoia. Rouge/Wolverine/Magneto/Creed/Cyclops/ any other character I happen to find attractive at the time.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: nonprofit use for entertainment purposes only and such and such... **

**U Can't Touch This**

a FanFiction

_It's not polite to steal someone's memories, powers, and life force. Especially if they're going to obsessively love you for it afterwards._

**Chapter One:**

All things considered, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning was actually a tranquil place, so when its mansion doors were suddenly blown off their hinges by a mad raving southern woman armed with a baseball bat…

…Well, things kind ofspiraled out of control.

Rouge's accent had a tendency to get _real_ thick anytime she was overly emotional, nervous, or horny. In retrospect that's probably why things escalated as quick as they did, since nobody could understand what the hell she was ranting on about and the bat brandishing wasn't helping much either.

She waved that thing in the air, screaming at students to stay indoors at all costs, and then would quickly fall back into her mumbling chant of "shitdamnfireshitdamnfireshit damnfire".

By the time Ororo had sprinted onto the scene and assessed the damage, (apparently Rouge had driven a 2000 Toyota Prius through the front doors) she was able to recognize Syrin's unconscious body drooling noiselessly in a heap of plaster and rubble.

"Rouge!" the Strom Witch practically choked. "What-What is the meaning of this? Why is Syrin unconscious?"

"I was forced to shut her up- violently!" _Shitdamnfireshitdamnfire…_

Ororo's gaze flicked from the goose egg sized bruise over the redhead's eye, to the baseball bat. Understanding began to dawn on her. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her face and for a minute she forgot the no-touching rule and shook Rouge roughly by her shoulders.

"…Shit! Ow. Damn girl," the southerner muttered, breaking out of her hyseteria with a wince and sobering to explain. "Awlright, start getting' ev'ryone `ta safety! IgotthisGawddamnstalkeronmyh eelsand _I don't know what to do_!" Another thing Rouge tended to slip into whenever she got emotional, nervous, or horny was talking _way to fast_.

Ororo just blinked, then took a long, meditative breath and spoke, "Rouge?"

"Yes Ma'am?"

"I need to carefully -and calmly - explain to me what has happened here."

"Oh, Er, well Ma'am I `sorta dove my car through the front doors."

Again Ororo could only blink. "Why?"

"Because I'm bein' chased by the gawddamn Brotherhood!"

Ororo encircled Rouge's gloved wrists in her firm grasp, forcing her to meet her hard look. "Rouge," she cracked like a whip, her voice steeled. "_Why_ is the Brotherhood after you?" Her unnaturally blue eyes bore deep into the other's pained face. Commanding attention until the full story came out.

Rouge winced, and then gulped. "Well, Ma'am you see… They're all in love with me, Ma'am."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Ororo blinked.

Her brows knit together in frustration because apparently her school had a gaping hole in it and a student had been knocked unconscious with a baseball bat because 'the Brotherhood had fallen in _love_ with Rouge."

The air around them grew super-charged with electricity... and impatience.

"They.. they _fell in love _with you?" She parroted, her poker face masking everything.

Rouge's features screwed together in an anguished expression. "Yes Ma'am I believe they did."

"In love?"

"Yes."

"With you?"

"YES!"

"So you drove a carthrough the front doors?" The Storm Witch was trying, but failing, got get a handle on the situation's limited logic.

Rouge thought about it for a second. "Actually Ma'am it was a Prius." One blue-eyed glare had her clamping her mouth shut.

Thankfully a large gasp distracted Ororo from electrocuting Rouge to death at that precise moment.

Emma Frost strode onto the scene in her pointy heels, surveying the wrecked exterior wall and the two X-(wo)Men hunkered together next to Syrin's drooling heap.

"WHAT THE_ HELL_ HAPPENED HERE?" She shrieked. Her stiletto's wobbling over the settling clouds of dust and wall bits as she stomped her bony legs over to her teammates.

Ororo gritted her teeth, her steely glare shooting angry-daggers at Rouge. "Apparently this one drove a car though the mansion wall!" she stated with venom.

"I already told you! It was a Prius!"

"-And then she knocked poor Syrin unconscious! -Violently! With a baseball bat!"

Frost groaned, her manicured fingers mashing into the side of her temples, rubbing away a fast growing headache. "Of course, what other way of rendering someone unconscious IS there?" She snapped. "What I want to know is _why_ this all happened."

Rouge bit her lip and glanced at Ororo, but she found no sympathy in that stony face so she squared she shoulders and repeated her story.

"I drove a Pruis,-" she said, shooting her own indignant glare at `Ro. "-thorugh the wall `cause I didn't have time `ta parallel park! The gawddamned Brotherhood is on my heels so we need `ta get the kids outta' here before they arrive! Let's all just hop on the blackbird an-"

"The _Brotherhood_ is after you and you led them here?" Emma cried, aghast.

"Er, yes Ma'am, I did?"

Emma's whole body trembled with fury. "And just _why _is the Brotherhood so intent on you in the first place?" she asked.

Rouge opened her mouth to explain, but Ororo beat her to the punch.

"Apparently," she ventured, sarcasm lacing her words, "They have all fallen _madly_ in love with Rouge."

Normally Rouge would be all over anyone who dared to mock her- however she had to concede, her claim seemed pretty ridiculous.

"Not all of em'," she defended weakly, to which Frost actually snorted. _The black hearted bitch…_

Emma Frost composed herself enough to manage a smile, but not in the happy sort of way. She never smiled in the happy way. It was more like in rueful distaste. "You mean to tell me," She stated slowly, like she were speaking to an idiot, "that you _destroyed_ all of this because you're being hunted down by lovesick members of the Brotherhood." She waved her arm towards the gaping hole where the mansion doors used to be in emphasis to the point she was making, just as a poorly timed chunk of drywall fell to the ground with a dusty _puff_. Emma scowled at it, than at the stripy haired girl whose was blushing furiously.

Rouge threw her gloved hands up in annoyance, the temptation to use her bat to knock some blonde and white haired skulls together tickled. "Why can't ya'll believe me? I'm tellin' yah the Brotherhood _is_ comin' and we need to get all the students evacuated! Like right now! So let's go, rapido! _Andale__,__andale__! Arriba, arriba_!"

Ororo and Emma shared wary looks of distrust. Neither woman budged.

Rouge sighed. _Fine_, she thought, _it's up to you and me trusty bat!_ She didn't know what she would've done, but all that mattered was in that exact moment they heard Avalanche's Russian voice calling them out with menace.

"SEND OUT THE ROUGE OR I WILL LEVEL YOUR PRECIOUS SCHOOL INTO DUST!" He boomed.

The Storm Witch and the telepath blinked in surprise, and Rouge was rewarded to see the looks of sheepish reproach pull their sneers into frowns.

"See?" She crowed. "I _told_ you so!"

_Ain't nothin' better than being proven your right._

ooo000OOO000ooo

"I told you" Rouge cheered, feeling pretty smug. "I was right but ya'll didn't believe me!'

"Now's not the time, Rouge!"

"But I'm still right..." she muttered.

By now the entire school was aware of the fact that a potentially catastrophic member of the Brotherhood had targeted their home. The ground began to shake violently, almost as in applause to the new mutant's presence while the mansion walls swayed in a sleepy motion, like the hypnotic rocking of a charmed cobra.

"ShitdamnFIRE! Shit… You're not gonna' give me over to em' are you?" Rouge asked, panic alive behind wide green eyes.

"I'm seriously considering it," Emma snarled. The younger women had the decency to blanch. Partly because she actually believed that Frost might make good on her sudo-threat, (but mostly because she suddenly remembered: _this_ was the women they trusted to teach kids ethics? She visibly shuddered.)

"I didn't mean to!" Rouge wailed. "I didn't know my powers could work that way! Don't let em' take me back to that Ol' bastard! He's so… old, and wrinkled, and…Ugh!" She had literally started gagging, leaving the other two women confusedly scratching their heads.

"You mean Magneto?" Ororo asked, putting the pieces together.

"Yes!" This time Rouge actually did manage to sob. They could still hear Avalanche from beyond the threshold of the school's walls. "YOU WON'T GIVE HER OVER? FINE! THE BROTHERHOOD WILL DIG HER BODY FROM UNDERNEATH THE RUBBLE!" he was roaring.

"What do we do about him?" Emma asked. The first order of business had to be stopping the demolition-crazy Russian bulldozer man currently threatening the school's foundation.

"I will face him," Ororo interjected. She face appeared calmly resigned, and she stoically rose to her feet to meet her adversary. Her eyes glowed with a white hot fire behind them as she lifted off the floor. Her body tensed and poised, with her legs pointed underneath her and her arms raised skyward to that comfort and power she sought from the grey clouds. Phantom gusts of wind redirected their currents to whip her long white braids like the living snakes of Medusa, billowing at her fingertips and rustling her clothes. She looked fearsome, like a vengeful goddess/Headmistress to whom only blood could satisfy. For a split second, Rouge actually felt nervous for poor Avalanche, the guy had this whole 'medieval pirate' thing going for him and had a tendency to wear a lot of metal…

She heard the lights sounds of their scrapping, then a deafening _ZAP!,_ and an _AAIIIIIEEeeeeeee!_, and she knew instantly who had won the five second fight. Rouge could still hear the high pitched note of Avalanche's squeal from where the electrical current thrashed his body, just beyond her view. _Ouch_, she thought, _poor guy…_

Confident in 'Storm's' ability to handle herself, the leftover women jumped to their feet, running through the school's infinite winding parlors and hallways clear to its opposite end at the mansion's hind exterior. Once there, they found Scott Summers, aka "Cyclops", completely donned in his black X-Men uniform and visor. When the Mansion walls had started to sway he'd immediately began organizing the partial evacuation of the student body. They were gathered together by the basketball court where the iconic Blackbird was rising from its metal sheath beneath layers of concrete. Effectively to be used as a super-stylish getaway van, should things take a turn for the worse and the school had to be abandoned.

"Cyclops!" Emma called out to him. He jogged over to their position, the visible bottom half of his face looking relieved to find them both seemingly unharmed. No limps, blood, or otherwise missing appendages…

"Emma!" He called out. "Rouge-? When did you get here?" Rouge had been a 'tracker' for almost a year, acting as a liaison on the school's behalf and picking up new recruits among the countless mutants she came across on her day to day. Her job was to give aid to all mutant (and human) kind, should the need present itself, and then offer the 'Xavier solution' to any among those for whom 'blending in' was impossible, or who lacked the necessary control to live safely on their own.

While the Mansion was still 'technically' her home, she'd mostly been living out of hotel rooms and Camper Trucks. The other X-Men saw her a few times during the month, usually when she was escorting a new mutant to the school, but she never stayed longer than a week. Otherwise they heard from her though sporadic and impersonal phone calls.

Emma, prompt and objective, patiently gave him the run-down on the situation. "The Brotherhood is after Rouge," she explained quickly. "We're still trying to understand why."

"No! We DO know why! I _told_ you why!" Rouge complained. She was alarmed by how quickly the urge to _whollop_ on Emma could take over her.

The blond scoffed, "Oh right, because they're all in _love_ with you."

"Yes!" Rouge huffed , "because they're head over their gawddammed heels!" Emma just rolled her eyes, but Cyclops' visible jaw looked utterly perturbed. She sighed, she knew she'd have to explain herself _again_, so she sucked in a deep breath and let her story finally come out.

"Ya'll know I've been lookin' for a way to, er, 'fix' the whole skin thing right?" She asked them, to which they both nodded, so her story continued…

"Well, I've been practicing on my own a lot, and I did it."

The visor made it impossible to tell for sure, but she thought she saw Cyclops' eyebrow lift. "You… Did it?" he asked. He sounded… eager, full of hope for her. Rouge couldn't suppress the shy ghost of a smile that quirked her lips.

"Yeah Scott, I did it. I can control it now. Always could actually, I just didn't realize it." Slowly, hesitantly, she peeled the soft leather glove from her right hand. Then, asking permission with her eyes, she reached that hand towards his face- towards his exposed skin. He blanched, but then nodded with the almost imperceptible tilt of his head. It was all the invitation she needed. The Rouge sucked in a deep, measured breath and touched the pads of her fingers to the tip of his nose.

One second passed, then two, then five. "Got your nose." She laughed. Cyclops looked visably relieved and let go of the breath he hadn't realized he's been carrying. It came out in a _whoosh._

"Oh Rouge that's incredible!" he caroled, pulling her into a celebratory hug. Rouge couldn't help herself, she beamed.

Even Emma shared in his dumbfounded excitement. "How-?" she asked. Her voice was barely above whisper in her hushed sense of awe.

Rouge's tinkling laughter light up her face and she practically reverberated with excitement. "Ya'll know how I've got those ghosts in my head?" she asked, tapping a finger lightly to her forehead.

They nodded.

"Well, it turns out Magneto's mind was a wonderful teacher. I sort of just _learned_ from his memories and adjusted his technique to work for me." She giggled. "It was easier than I ever dreamed it could be."

They gaped at her, Cyclops apprearing mildly alarmed. "You just, _used_ their memories?" he asked slowly, "the different consciousnesses didn't overwhelm you?"

"At first they did." She replied honestly. "The Professor had taught me to keep everything that wasn't 'mine' compartmentalized. I used to try to lock their presences away in an, er… basement. In my head. But that didn't work out to well, I mean, haven't ya'll seen what happens when someone tries to cage the Wolverine?"

Scott winced at the picture she was painting. She smiled sadly at him, she could tell by the thin line of his lip that he regretted the violent personalities she'd been forced to share brain space with inside her psyche.

"When I gave up tryin' to keep em' call contained," she continued, meeting the eyes beneath his red visor, "-and I let em' loose, they all just sort of faded away on their own. They're kind of like memories that way, actually. _Real _memories. If I think of them they resurface, but they don't ravage my head anymore."

Nobody said anything for a while; a heavy silence hung around them as they considered the leaps and bounds Rouge had advanced in her ability. Emma was the first to break the silence with a new question.

"But the skin- how…?"

"Well, when my powers manifested when I was experiencing my first ever kiss with I boy I really liked. Xavier figured it was probably the excitement that triggered it. Anyway, the boy was in a coma for three weeks and I knew that it was my fault because I'd somehow touched him and sucked the life right outta' him."

"The second time it happened was when Logan ah, accidently nicked me that first night at the mansion. I didn't actually know for sure if my power's worked the way I thought they did, but I can remember thinkin' that I didn't want to die, and then remembering Logan's ability to heal…"

"So by that third time, when Magneto forced his consciousness on me, I just assumed that it would happen again if he touched me. I'd always _assumed_. The tiniest touch, the flutter of skin, the most minute contact and WHAM! I'd suck em' dry! And I guess since I thought that way it sorta' just happened that way. But that's not actually how it works. I have to _want_ it. It's kinda like flip-switch actually. If I turn it on, it's on. But I can turn it off too!"

"I guess that makes sense." Emma finally declared. "But it still doesn't explain how you managed to turn the Brotherhood into crazed loverboys."

"Oh right, that. Well, I was trying to figure out how to reclaim some of the powers I've borrowed, like how when I first touch someone I can use their abilities? But doing that takes a lot of focus and I have to channel the consciousness of whichever mutant the power originated from. I think somehow… triggered something."

"What sort of trigger?" Cyclops wondered.

"I don't know. But I was channeling Magneto when it started. He just _found _me and started actin' all love sick and was spouting poetry and shit, so I laid him _real_ low."

"You what?" he choked.

"Ohmuhgawd Scott! Not 'laid' as in sex, laid as in I beat the shit out of em'! That's why he's sendin' his goons after me steada' comin' here himself."

"Oh," Cyclops blushed, embarrassed. However that nagged to question, "How'd you manage to defeat him?" He knew from experience what a tough old buzzard Magneto could be, and frankly it astounded him that petit little Rouge could come out of their clash the victor.

A wicked grin curved at her lips and scrunched up her nose. "I kicked him in the gonads." She gloated.

"-Really, _really _hard."

"Oh," he shrugged. "Well that'd do it I guess."

She was still grinning, her nose scrunched up in evil delight as she remember the satisfying scream he'd made. When from out of nowhere, she was bodily hurled off her feet and carried away- bridal style- from her shocked teammates. She screamed in outrage and confusion, before recognizing the all too familiar face of the man whose lithe arms held onto her like a cage.

It was the speed demon himself.

Quicksilver.


	2. Chapter 2

**Woah. You guys actually read my chapter. That's... unexpected. But hey, I'll take it.**

**I thought I should clarify a few things (like the X-Men dynamic) before moving on. Charles Xavier IS dead, so is Jean Grey. Storm is the official headmistress of the school, and Cyclops is still team leader. Wolverine did NOT kill Jean Grey/Phoenix, nor did he have a 'thing' for her. Victor Creed was M.I.A throughout the first movie, so just pretend that blonde furball was a different mutant entirely. An while we're at it, let's all pretend he's dead.**

**If you have any questions just write me and I'll address it either in the next chapter installment or an authors note.**

* * *

**Chapter Two:**

Rouge felt a surge of panic wash over her like a cresting wave, and she thought for a minute that she might throw up. Ouicksilver, with Rouge in his arms, didn't slow down. His feet pumped against the pavement too fast for poor Rouge to even register his movement. It was as if she were on a zip line without the vest, or surfing atop the blackbird without feet. It was scary as hell, and watching the Mansion shrink into the distance within a matter of seconds didn't help quell her rising tides of fear.

She knew he would take her away and the X-Men wouldn't be able to rescue her. They'd simply never catch up in time. It was solely up to her, so she kicked and bucked against his hold…that is, until he almost dropped her.

She realized something in that instant. Hitting the pavement at the current speed he was carrying her equaled death.

Like jumping off a rocketship. Good luck sister!

_Okay, new tactic,_ she thought. Taking her right hand- the one she'd de-gloved before with Cyclops- she pressed a smooth palm onto the surface of his exposed cheek and willed her mutation to kick in. The effect was almost instant, truly like flipping a switch. Off. On. That's right sucka' you don't know who your messin' with! His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his veins swelled black. She could see the way his energy pooled beneath her touch, where it surged through her fingertips into her body.

And then the world around her seemed to dim as if it were suspended in molasses. The sounds muffled and the rushing wind didn't slap at her face anymore.

Things had transformed into slow-motion around her. Darting her head left to right, she took in her surroundings. The little two lane street he'd been carrying her past seemed quaint and vaguely familiar, like someplace she might have visited once with Kitty of Jubilee.

That's good, she thought. That means I can find my way back.

But Quicksilver's body hadn't given out yet, and he was still stubbornly placing one foot in front of the other, although she could make out the movement now. Gradually, after another ten steps or so his walk faltered and his legs wobbled, until he dropped into a crawl. But still the guy kept on going! He finally collapsed Rouge let out a relived sigh. He's held on so long, she'd almost doubted if her power could even work on him!

She shrugged out of his arms and rose to her feet, and the sensation was weird. Just by standing a ripple of her motion coasted around her like the current of a stream. And she could see it! She tested the sensation once more by waving her hand out in front of her. The reaction was beautiful, like being suspended with phantom water. She actually laughed.

That's about when she felt Quicksilver's presence stirring from within her mind. She'd deal with him being up there, but later. Right now she had to find her way back to the mansion. She picked the direction he'd been running from, the direction she'd hoped would lead her back and set off running.

She was gone within the blink of an eye.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Rouge broke the sound barrier on her way back to the mansion. The total time lapse since Quicksilver snagged her to her re-appearance before Cyclops and Emma Frost took the total time of three minutes, eighteen seconds. That was funny though, `cause it'd seemed a lot longer to Rouge.

Her teammates jumped when they saw her stumbled to the floor in front of them. How Quicksilver'd managed to stop himself so _fast_ was a plain mystery. She'd worried about being able to stop herself in time and so she'd quit pumping her legs as soon as she recognized the outline of Frost's bright white suit rapidly coming up in the distance. She'd skidded the rest of the way. Damned if there weren't several new buisy surprises coving her body by morning. And her tennis shoes had a hole in em'. She had to wonder how many shoes _he'd _gone through in a single week.

Cyclops flinched when she appeared before him so suddenly. Both he and Emma looked wore equal expressions of shock on their faces, that's how she realized they hadn't even know what happened. She actually had to tell them that Quicksilver abducted her briefly. How he'd swept her away but she'd managed to knocked him on his ass and drain his power, and how he'd be down for the count. After all, that first boy, Cody, was in a coma for three weeks after their touch, and even Logan had slept for two whole days. And that was with his healing factor!

Cyclops felt incredibly guilty for not noticing in time what'd happened. The way he described it was she was there, talking with them, until she wasn't. He kept cursing under his breath and repeating these apologies. Both mutants implicitly trusted her now about the whole love-stalker thing. Emma instantly racked her brain for logically possibilities to explain her powers and how they'd managed to morph so exponentially. She worked at the mystery like it were great, inconvenient puzzle, but at least she'd stopped giving Rouge lip.

Rouge could concede, the situation seemed ludicrous, but that didn't make it _not true_. While Emma thought, Cyclops fawned over Rouge, demanding see her scraped and bruises and cooing over every spec of blood. Rouge found it a bit unsetting, even if he _was_ team leader. He'd never given her so much attention before. Ever. And he's certainly never treated her like a china doll, so what gave? He was being really, really annoying and she couldn't figure out why.

_Maybe it's the love-bug,_ she wondered briefly before dismissing the thought as being to preposterous to consider. There was just no way. Cyclops was a one great love sorta' guy, he'd never be over Jean.

Eventuallt they tracked down Forge from within the bowels of the Mansion and made him babysitter while they went looking for Ororo.

The Storm Witch was easier to locate than Forge, having stayed in much the same place that they left her, just outside the Mansion's front grounds with one boot placed firmly atop Avalanche's sizzling chest. He looked… purple, but not quite dead. Emma knelt beside him and placed her hand over his swollen eyes where she erased his memories. She took away anything that would lead him back to the Mansion. That way ensuring the safety of other X-Men, the students, and Rouge.

They'd go back for Quicksilver and do the same, then dump their bodies somewhere for Magneto to find. Maybe at the MRD's front doorstep… Heh.

With the baddies taken care of and no immediate danger threatening anyone they moved their conference into the kitchen. It was a bit surreal, meeting together like that for what had become official X-Man business, but they didn't want to leave the students out of ear shot in case of another attack, so they made do.

As soon as they'd closed themselves off Emma spun around to level her gaze at Rouge. Her posture oozed Queen Bee authority, with the way her arms folded crossly against her chest and the inconvenienced grimace distorting her otherwise pretty features. Even though Cyclops was team leader and `Ro was headmistress, she projected being 'the boss' with her stance just by her stance alone.

"I think I can explain this phenomenon you're experiencing," she announced. "It's all based on the way your powers are evolving. They have always manifested as a peculiar hybrid of physical and telepathic qualities, but I think what's happening is that your borrowed consciousnesses are acting as a beacon to their original masters. I think Magneto is subconsciously sensing himself within you, and it's driving him to this irrational behavior."

"Oh," Rouge responded lamely. "I guess that makes sense."

"Trust me, this is the best possible explanation for it. Now all we need to know is the list of everyone you've 'picked up' since started happening, as well as any consciousnesses you might have 'used' lately."

"What? _Seriously?" _That's be a freakin' long list!

"I'm dead serious."

Rouge sighed. "Okay, well there was Magneto, but like I said he ain't gonna be walkin' anytime soon. An' there was that Toad guy, plus Quicksilver just a little while ago, and…. Oh shit."

"What? Who else?" Cyclops worried.

"Creed." Rouge said, or more like whimpered.

Creed had somehow been in the thick of it when all her troubles started and she'd been forced to Ah, 'borrow' from him a little bit… His memories had been fuzzy and difficult to decipher, almost animal in their nature, but she'd learned enough by him to know he wasn't working with Magneto. He'd been after something very specific, a type of metal maybe… She couldn't know for sure, the thoughts were too clouded, almost like he'd been in a drug-induced haze when she'd taken them.

"Is Creed gonna' come lookin' for me too?" she asked wide eyed. The bone-chilling thought caused the baby hairs to rise on the back of her neck, as well as a tingling pool of heat to well together inbetween her thighs…

Was she a little bit turned on?

Maybe…

Hey! It's not like that was a crime! She just happened to find him very attractive in a sexy, dangerous sort of way. It didn't mean anything, _Stop judging her already!_

"I think at this point anything is possible," said Emma. "But for now I think we can assume Magneto was attracted by your use of his 'essence', as it were. I strongly caution that you refrain from focusing too heavily upon another's memories or you might trigger this behavior again. At least until we learn how to fix it."

"But what if it can't be fixed? I mean, do you realize how _hard_ it is to simply ignore the other ghosts up there? I can remember all their lives as if they were my own. In a way they've become apart of me." She felt her panic levels rising. "What happens if this doesn't end? I don't want to be a beacon! I don't want Magneto attracted to me!"

Rouge was working herself into a fit. She'd gone to the X-Men looking for an insta-answer, the fix-all solution to end her problems. But sadly, all they seemed to have for her was theories without solutions. It was… it was…

Frustrating.

"Rouge," Cyclops eased in, "don't worry yourself. We'll find a way." He took up her small hands in his own and stroked a thumb across her knuckles. A little red flag shook wildly in her head, _since when had he been touchy-feely?_

"Stop it," she cussed at him while snatching her hand away. "I at least need a better answer then just-ignore-them. I've already _tried _that before, an' honey, it don't work. The only way to suppress em' like you're talking `bout is ta' literally cage em' like the Professor did to Jean."

Cyclops paled at the mention of his dead wife. Ororo frowned. They remembered how it was with Jean, they remembered the migraines she used to suffer through.

"It's worth a try." Emma resolutely declared.

Rouge gaped at her. Was she seriously suggesting? "Uh, no. It definitely ain't worth it. At least not until we've narrowed down other options."

Emma threw up her hands in exasperation. "There might not _be_ another way, and while we sit here arguing about it Magneto could be devising another assault on our school! Just let me-"

"Aw, hell no! You ain't goin' anywhere near my head!"

"Emma," Ororo warned. "Respect the Rouge's decision. She has told you no."

Emma scowled. "Fine, but since she won't DO anything about this I'm going to have to insist she leave the school grounds. She's a safety hazard to our students here."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Rouge didn't speak. She couldn't, because she didn't know what to say. Emma had unknowingly struck a nerve and it sure did sting_._

She cleared her throat, forcing down the brimming emotion and told Emma "Ya'know, they said that same damn thing when I showed up at the place the first time."

Ororo and Cyclops winced at the quiet reminder. They'd still remembered all-too well the kind of persecution Rouge had faced at the hands of mutants just like herself. Kids who were scared of her dangerous and uncontrollable ability, who thought I'd be for the best if Rouge weren't around to 'endanger them'. You'd think some people would know better, but a lot of times they disappoint.

"Rouge is one of our own," the Storm Witch said slowly, with so much authority emitting off her the air crackled with static. "-And we do_ not_ abandon our own. Charles wouldn't have stood for it."

"I agree," Cyclops chimed in. "The Professor would have wanted to keep Rouge safe at all costs, and so will we. I swear Rouge, I wouldn't let them get you."

_Ever the knight in shining armor_, she thought dryly. Cyclops' had adjusted to stand next to her in a sort of shield between the two women. His eyes however, or rather his visor, were trained on Rouge and not Emma. It confirmed her fifty-percent suspicion that he was acting weird. She wasn't just imagining it… right?

Rouge was really touched by their support, but she had to go with the tela-bitch on this one. "I think we oughtta' listen to Emma for once," she stated tonelessly. "Besides, she's right. I've done enough damage already."

"No!" Cyclops interjected. "You shouldn't think that!"

"But it's a little bit true ain't it? I wrecked the Mansion! _And _I brought the bad guys to your doorstep."

"That's coming out of your allotment by the way." Emma pointed out.

"Emma!" `Ro exclaimed, horrified at her women's bluntness.

Rouge settled the budding argument with a loud sigh. "Actually, she's right about that too `Ro. I oughtta' pay for the damages."

"I can't in good conscious-"

"Don't worry about it. Honest, just take it outta' my next couple paychecks."

"Oh, Iplan to."

"Shut up Emma!"

They all spared a glare at Frost, who shifted uncomfortably in her shoes. Who knows if she was actually embarrassed for herself though, I mean, those were stilleto's she was wearing after all. She could just be figiting because her feet hurt.

Anyway…

"If I stay someone else will end up hurt- speaking of which, did we ever go back for Syrin?"

Blank expression told her _No, no they did not. _

Heh, whoops.

Cyclops was on it. "Don't worry girls, I'll go get her." He offered.

"Okay thanks Scott, she's next to the massive hole in the wall!" Rouge called after his retreating form. _Hmmm…. Butt_, she thought, until she caught Emma glarin' at her from the corner of her eye. _Shit. Telepath!_

With Cyclops gone, Rouge spoke directly to Ororo, not sure if she was trying to reassure the Storm Witch or herself.

"I'll be fine on my own," she said, although the words rang hollow. "I'll leave in the morning if that's alright."

`Ro sighed. "If you think that's best." She seemed sad, and weary, and mildly relived. And Rouge knew she was doing the right thing by going.

"I'm sure." Rouge decided, the firmness of her own conviction startling her. At least, she thought, there'd be two less badies now. Runnin' back to this place hadn't been a total waste of time.

She sighed, feeling the weight of her predicament come crushing down. She thought faintly that she might start crying again. This experience, it was all so overwhelming! She felt helpless, and she craved the one person who made her feel strong.

"I wish Logan were here," she admitted as the first salty tear cam sliding down her cheek.

She didn't expect to hear his low grunt respond from the doorway. She didn't expact him to be there at all.

"Good thing I made it then, darlin'."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Rouge launched herself onto his neck, hugging and clinging to him for dear life. Too many emotions swirled through her head. There was relief and comfort, surprise and embarrassment, joy and… joy.

Lots and lots of joy.

Before she knew it, she'd convulsed into bitter sobs against his shirt. His arms came around her and just held her there, tightly nestled against his body. If she could have melted into him, she probably would have. He put laid a soothing hand against the back of her head, brushing his fingers through the long mahogany strands of her hair. She shivered at the touch.

"Shhh, it's okay babe, I'm here now." He whispered low in her ear. His presence- it was as if someone had opened a window and let the sunshine in. He was like the breath of fresh air, or that deep resounding calm of the woods. He made everything _so _much better.

"Tell me what's the matter," he quietly bid her. So she did. She told him all about the past couple days: how Magneto had confronted her and how he'd sicced his goons on her. She admitted to the anxiety she felt, because she didn't think Magneto was going to stop and because Emma hinted at it happening again with other people- maybe someone worse than Magneto. She cried a lot, letting loose the pent up pressure and was glad she had his shoulder to lean on. She missed him so much. She wanted to hug his shirt and never let em' go again.

Logan, for his part, cooed at her in the most calming, soothing tone he could muster. But underneath it she could feel his body tense and tremble in outrage. She could sense him fighting for control over his claws, clenching his fists so they didn't accidently pop out of their own accord. She knew- in that special way that she knew him, that his animal was already _sniffing_ out Magneto. It didn't take his voice in her head to tell her he wanted blood. He wanted to sink his claws into that old man's gut and _twist_.

But he couldn't.

Not yet.

So instead he held her, telling her it would be alright. Because he was here now, wasn't he?

And he promised not to let go.

After the worst of her sobbing was over and she'd settled against him in exhaustion, he acknowledged Ororo and Emma Frost, who fasinatedly watched the hardened, grizzly man comfort the girl with a tenderness neither of them knew he had. Logan must have realized what they were thinking, and he had to save face.

"Yer' front doors is missing," he taunted Ororo with a chuckle. "Might want to call the handy man 'bout that."

The Headmistress groaned. She looked wearily, like she was ready to curl up under a blanket and sleep. "Yes, I _noticed_ that," she grumped. "Maybe _you_ should give Rouge a few lessons in parking, that was her car she drove through the wall."

"It was a _Pruis_" Rouge corrected between sniffles.

"A Pruis?" Logan repeated, his nose wrinkling in distaste. "That's a pansy vehicle! Hell, that ain't even a real car!"

"I know, that's what I've been sayin'."

"And you actually drove that? Rouge! Don't you know that's like driving around in a va-"

"OhmyGod! Can you two _not _do this right now?" Emma interrupted. "I'll have you know that _I _drive a Prius!"

"Yeah well, go figure." The cozy couple both snorted and laughed.

Emma didn't even bother with a retort; she just shot them a withering glare. "It's time to get back to business," she bitched. "Logan, Rouge has begun exhibiting a unique form of mind control. I've never seen anything like it, but I think she's actually managed to project a unique type of 'signal' to the victims of her power absorbation. These individuals are finding themselves inexplicitly drawn to her."

Her eyes met his, critically obserbing him. "I think you're caught in it." She pronounced.

Logan blinked. Then laughed.

"You think Rouge _mind controlled _me into coming here? That's gotta' be the dumbest shit I've heard in a while." He chortled, however even as he mocked his chin had come to rest atop her auburn haired head. His arms subconsciously held her tighter than he had before.

Emma smiled predatorily, like a spider with a fly caught in her web. "You are!" she crowed. "Your just like Magneto."

"What? That's bullshit, I'm just checkin' in on the kid is all." His body shifted ever so subtly. He didn't even realize it, but he was responding to her as a threat, placing himself between Frost and his girl.

_No, not a girl. Not anymore..._

"Logan, she affecting you!"

"That's crazy I just—wait a minute! Holy Shit! Rouge! We're touchin'!" How could he have missed it? How could he have forgotten? Idiot! He'd just zeroed in on his favorite girl and the smell of her sorrow, he'd completely forgotten how upset she'd be if he accidently... if he…

No pain!

Nothing!

Not even a prickle! The was a tingling he felt alright, but that sure as hell wasn't her power's working on him, that was the novelty of _feeling her skin! _His blood pounded in his ears and the room swayed a little. They were actually touching! And it felt fan-fucking-tastic!

"When did this happen?" He asked in wonderment, disbelieving what he could already see and feel to be true. For him it was surreal, like this reality would prove to be a pretty dream. The kind you wake up from thinking, hmm, that was swell.

"Apparently Rouge has leaned to control it," Ororo informed him. "We just learned of it ourselves but a few hours ago."

So it _was _real, Logan thought. He stared wide eyed at the women he'd found the X-Men with not long ago, the anchor that kept him around even after the good Professor had passed away. She was the only 'friend' he admitted to having and the only other person besides the professor that's he'd cared about in a long time.

Carefully, as if she'd break if he touched her to hard, he rubbed his knuckles against the swell of her cheek. She felt soft and good and _right. _He laughedto keep himself from doing anything else embarrassing. Rouge shared in his laugher, wiping her eyes of their previous sadness and rewarding him with a stunning smile.

"I've been able to control for a while now." She admitted. "I was plannin' on waitin' for you before I said anythin' about it though, so I guess that all worked out. Pretty crazy, ain't it?"

"Aw, Rouge it's wonderful!" he exclaimed. He vaulted them forward, spinning her around an' around the room til' the both got dizzy and toppled to the floor. Still laughing, their arms still encircled around the other. He gingerly brushed a white lock of hair behind her ear and whispered, too quiet for anyone else to overhear, "I'm so proud of you Marie."

Hearing her name like that pushed her over the edge once again, and another tear—this time happy—brimmed over her eyes. A breathy laughter escaped her and she squeezed her dear friend's neck once again for good measure.

Just because she could.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN/ Writing this chapter sucked.**

**Chapter Three:**

Rouge had a quirk she never grew out of. Ever since she was a little girl staying the night at a friend's house, sleeping in an unfamiliar bed never rewarded any rest. She would literally toss and turn all night long. Maybe stare at the ceiling a bit, or imagine dull-eyed sheep just so she could count them all. The worst part was when she closed her eyes and it felt like _hours _had passed by, only to check a clock and realize it'd actually been about fifteen seconds.

Damn. She'd go back to imagining sheep. Maybe think up a new one with bat wings and satyr horns. She'd name him Ricardo.

Heh. Ricardo the Demon sheep!

From hell.

_I'll bet insomnia comes from hell…_

Rouge sighed. It was no use. She couldn't picture Ricardo and so let her mind wander instead. She avoided thinking thought about all the crazy-ass shit happening to her lately. Refusing to dwell on Magneto, unwilling to consider if Emma was right about Logan's being affected or not, never bothering to wonder how she would survive on her own. Come morning she'd have to leave the mansion. That was the part she skipped thinking about the most.

She groaned, wearily acknowledging the daunting twilight hours ahead of her if her mind wouldn't rest. All the while Quicksilver's stolen memories pressed against the front of her cranium. She sighed. Now was as good a time as any she supposed. She opened her mental flood-gates and let his consciousness wash over her.

It was going to be a long, long night.

ooo000OOO000ooo

It comes as no surprise that Rouge 'woke up' the next morning feeling like a cranky bitch the size of Godzilla. Puny mutants beware! She hadn't had her coffee yet!

She smacked her shoulder into the door jam on her way out the bedroom. Swearing loudly, she stomped into the kitchen, scowling at anyone who dared to look twice.

She'd forgotten that she was still in her underwear.

So yeah, people _totally _looked twice.

She pushed through the kitchen's swinging doors and growled. She was hungry. But more than that- she wasn't a morning person. A shrimpy pre-teen boy gaped at her from the television set, his eyes blinking rapidly as he memorized the sight of her panties. The TV channels skipped in step with the fluttering of his eyelids.

Rouge cocked a brow at him and he turned bright red. He ducked his head and fled from the room.

_That's right boy! You'd better run! I'm the mother-fucking Godzilla of breakfast-time!_

She chuckled darkly.

'Cause she was in a dark mood.

Quicksilver had been a nasty fellow, she'd decided. She didn't feel a moment's regret for what she did to him. She already planned on giving him a nice punch in the face if they ever chanced to meet again. The guy was a tool.

And now he was _her_ tool. She smiled to herself. The speedster had given her a whole plethora of breaking and entering tactics that would come in handy sometime. If someday she should wonder, _hmm, how do I pop this lock?_ his memories would come flooding back to her.

Rouge scavenged a cup of coffee. With lots of sugar and cream, thank you! She chugged it down in greedy gulps and tossed her dirty mug in the sink. It's not like she'd be staying at the mansion, so why bother cleaning up? She picked out a red apple to sink her teeth into it and ate it on her way back to the bedroom. She'd pack up her things and then bid her goodbyes, as promised.

Walking past the library she caught snippets of muffled conversation and pressed her ear to the ajar door. She recognized Forge's voice inside complaining about 'poor communication'.

"You didn't tell me I was picking up a dead guy!" he was accusing whoever else was in the room.

She blinked. At first not comprehending what _dead guy _he was talking about. But then the dreadful realization sunk in and Rouge swallowed the rising lump in her throat. Instantly regretting what had been overheard, she remembered that Forge had been placed in charge of bagging Magneto's baddies for the MRD. He must have gone back for Quicksilver but found a corpse instead…

_I touched him to long, _she realized sadly, _I killed him._

A feeling of guilt sucker punched her in the gut. Wasn't she just thinking he deserved it a moment ago? Wasn't she just strutting around, feeling like a badass ghost rider of mutant justice?... Or something along those lines? Her head spun. Damn she felt sick…

She retreated back into the locked confinement of her four bedroom walls gasping, sinking to the carpet floor. Grief overwhelmed her, but it wasn't pity for the dead.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Cyclops's knuckles rasped on the polished wood of Rouge's door, hoping to elicit an answer from the girl who had unfailingly ignored him this past half-hour. She hadn't come down from her room yet (as far as he knew), and wouldn't see anyone. Both Ororo and Scott had tried consoling whatever it was ailing her, but she wouldn't answer except to reassure them she would be leaving within the hour. `Ro had accepted defeat and walked away, but Scott was still entreating her. He was a stubborn man, and he planned to wait it out. She had to leave her room eventually, he rationalized. Everyone had to pee eventually.

So he knocked firmly against the wooden frame yet again, feeling very determined. "Rouge, please open up and talk to me." He pleaded.

Still no answer. Jean would have at least acknowledged him by know, and Scott found that frustrating. Just how long did she plan on ignoring him? His hands balled into fists and the urge to break the door down struck. He dismissed the temptation, knowing that brute force wouldn't accomplish anything. He had to be sensitive and patient. He would wait until she was ready to let him in.

But then Logan came sauntering through the hallway looking fiercely irate. He dismissed Cyclops with a contemptuous roll of his eyes before shoving him aside and filling up the door frame.

"Rouge!" the big man's voice lashed. "You have exactly five seconds!'

"One-!" They heard the immediate scuffle of activity within the bedroom. "Two-!" She let out a stifled squeak and fumbled with the lock. "Three-!"

_Click._

The door was open.

So much for sensitivity.

Cyclops stared at the floor, refusing to meet Logan's cocky smirk. He could feel the force of whatever withering simper was directed at him. Those were the special kinds of looks Logan had a talent for giving. The looks that made a man feel like he was being stripped naked and ah, coming up short.

He waited like that, eyes downcast and feet shuffling awkwardly until Logan scoffed and went inside the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Scott was conflicted by the opposing desires to 1.) See Rouge and 2.) Save face, and the other strong urge to slink away on his belly. Like a worm. (Which was a pretty good analogy, given the glasses)

He decided to save face. Puffing out his chest he strode proudly into his teammate's room… and immediately deflated.

There was Rouge, breathtakingly beautiful and even more luminescent then the Venus of portrait. Her long auburn hair with its angel like curls, those green, green eyes, that skin which caused the moonlight to stare in envy... She was so beautiful. She made him feel like his heart was going to melt.

And then there was _Logan, _kneeling all together to close to his Adonis. She linked their fingers and whispered to _him _in a voice to low for Scott to hear. She smiled at _him _with a familiarity that squeezed his chest. Seeing them together, so intimate, so comfortable with one another felt like an ice cold bucket of water dumped on his head. Jealousy steamed out his nose.

Sure he was being irrational. But he really couldn't help it. Seeing Rouge again had _stirred _something deep within him and now he felt like his internal compass pointed due strait- at her. He couldn't let Logan get in the way of that. This was why it didn't matter that his ego had suffered a considerable blow, or that he was secretly chicken-shit of the great man-pillar of testosterone. _She_ made him feel like he was walking through a thick sea of mist, with her face being the only source of navigation. His North Star, if you will. He couldn't let that metal-boned bastard screw that up for him. And so before he knew it the shades were off and he was blasting a hole through Logan's adamantium chest.

Revenge was sweet.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"I killed someone yesterday Logan. He was trying to spirit me away to Magneto, so I touched him, and now he's dead."

Silence.

"So you're feeling guilty? Is that it?"

"I guess so. It's complicated."

He scoffs. "Who'd understand that better than me?"

She smiles. "You're right."

"Course I am."

Another smile. This one's sad.

"Logan… what happens when you take a life? How are you supposed to feel?"

He ponders. "I'm not sure if there's a right answer for that."

"Well, how does it make _you _feel?"

His eyes lock onto hers. There's a dangerous edge to that look.

"Satiated."

She nods her head. She can remember the feeling, from his memories. He enjoys killing more than he likes the other X-Men to know.

"Logan? What if I don't regret it? Does that make me a bad person?"

"Do you feel like a bad person?"

She frowns. "I don't know."

"And are you sorry he's dead?'

"I am. I didn't intend for him to die; it just happened."

"But if you could go back, still not knowing that what would ultimately happen if you touched him, would you do it again?"

"Well, maybe if I hadn't held on so long-"

"No. No 'ifs'. Start thinkin' that way and you'll go insane. I'm talking Yes or No, would you _still_ have used your power on him?"

She is silent.

"I think… Yes. I would have. Definitely I would have. He would have taken me if I hadn't."

"So… does that make you a bad person?"

She sighs. "I don't know? Does it?"

He shrugs. "Like I said I don't think there's an answer for this question."

She bites her lip.

"Logan?"

"Yeah Marie?"

"I don't think I'm a bad person."

He pats her hair. "Neither do I."

"And Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"…If I asked you to kiss me, would you?"

His breath hitches. He hopes she doesn't notice.

"_Are_ you asking?"

She smiles at him. There's a sultry gleam in her green eyes that he's never seen her wear before. It's very arousing.

"Logan I _want _you to kiss me."

Well then…

He's ready to oblige.

He leans in-

-and gets shot in the chest.

ooo000OOO000ooo

There are some moments in life that seem surreal, like when your Lottery ticket wins the big bucks, or your grandma calls from jail asking if you'd post bail, or (in Rouge's case) when the man your about to kiss gets knocked off his feet by a high-powered optic beam.

When that happens, you're often left in a daze wondering why the hell his tongue isn't in your mouth.

Or maybe that was just her.

Logan bellowed in outrage, (whether that was directed at the searing pain in his chest or the rudeness of being interrupted was unknown). Only one thing for sure: He went down as a sexy 'I'm-about-to-jump-your-bones Logan', and came back up the Wolverine.

His body made a metallic creak as he mutely climbed to his feet. Numb, inspecting the sizzling cavity where his pectoral muscles _used _to be he snarled, his eyes eerily lifting to glare down Cyclops's smug face. There was a signature within look he gave- and it _promised _full compensation.

Cyclops's blast had consumed his skin and muscle, and only his metal skelo-structure had been enough to shield the heat from melting a hole through his core. The lasers had licked at his vital organs, but they were otherwise protected within the encasement of his shiny, exposed adamantium ribcage. He looked gruesome, like the goddamn terminator.

Everyone knows: _you can't stop the terminator!_

Cyclops had enough time to think OH SHIT! before he was charged.

Their bodies smashed through the drywall in a tangled clamor of fists of limbs that ended up with Cyclops on his back while Logan pummeled his face into one swollen purple bruise. Another blast leaked out of Cyclops' eyes which hurled the bigger man off him- temporarily. The reprieve was short lived as Logan pounced on him once again with doubled ferocity one had to wince at.

Rouge watched the violence unfold with a horrified fascination. Besides feeling hot and sticky inside that two men would actually _fight _over her, she was growing massively agitated. Cyclops had never given the impression of _liking _her before the other day, so his sudden outbreak seemed unprecedented. If she didn't already know better she'd assume he'd fallen victim to her love-me-mind-control same as Magneto. But that was ridiculous; she'd never taken his memories before! She tried taking his powers once, but it hadn't worked since he'd been unconscious at the time. Rouge had always just assumed it's been a dud.

However… She'd been wrong before.

Well .Fire.

She knew she'd have to break up the cock fight before Cyclops discovered six shiny claws imbedded in his gut, but she also knew there was no way in hell she's be able to physically separate them. At 5'5 they dwarfed her, so unless she had super strength tossing herself into the rough and pulling them apart was the equivalent of stupid. But all that left was her mutant power- and she knew she couldn't do that them. Not if it made people go crazy.

And especially not after killing Quicksilver.

There was no way she would take that risk, and so in the end she did what most rational minds would have thought to do first: she ran for help. She vaulted down the hallway at record-time speeds, having unwittingly invoked the dead Speedsters ability. Time slowed down just as it did before, only this time she was too distracted to notice the difference. She tumbled into Ororo's office and babbled for the storm witch to come up and help her because Logan and Cyclops were killing each other in her room. Then she spun on her heels and rocketed away.

Within the blink of an eye Rouge hadd raced back to the brawling men and screamed in their ears, ordering them to stop. But they wouldn't hear her-

"Stop it!" She shrieked letting her fists beat wildly against Cyclops's shoulder. One of his eyes was swollen shut while the other one blasted against Logan's claws. The adamantium absorbed most of the laser, burning red hot from the heat and giving his claws the look of a sword freshly aglow from the forge. The rest of the flesh on his hands and forearms had sizzled off the bones, not even making a bloody mess since he was literally evaporating.

"You have to stop!" she commanded. Her voice was turning hoarse and her fingers scratched at Cyclops, who still had Logan pinned under his optic beam. He pushed her aside but she wouldn't let off him. Couldn't he see she was saving his life? Her nails found purchase on his cheek and raked an angry scratch down the side of his face. He reacted to the pain by backhanding her across the mouth, sending her reeling against the floor. She cracked her head on the hard surface and her vision swam. Groaning, she rolled onto her belly and felt herself drool. She tasted the coppery explosion of blood in her mouth and realized it wasn't salvia dribbling down her chin…

_I give up, _she thought glumly. _Just tell me who wins. I'm just gonna' take a little nap in the corner…_

_But wait- wasn't there a rule about concussions?_

_Oh, that's right. No sleeping._

_Goddamnit._

Rouge sighed. And winced. And retched.

If you couldn't already tell, she was having a really, _really _shitty morning. It nearly got better- but alas, she was un-kissed and feelin' pissed off.

Having two men kill each other over you is _NOT SEXY, _she decided_. _(Or maybe the problem was that it wasn't sexy enough). Either way, Rouge was finished with them. They could just kill each other than, for all she cared! _Whatever! _

She was glassy-eyed when Ororo finally sprinted into their midst with Emma Frost following just behind. If Rouge could have moved her lips she would have cussed them out. Honestly, hadn't she told `Ro to move her ass _ages _ago? Ms. Munroe needed to hustle!

The Storm Witches' eyes were like saucers as she absorbed the physical trauma enfolding around her. Right off the bat she noticed more destruction of school property, namely the second hole in the wall (besides the dozen scorched marks and broken furniture). Her two team mates looked like either one might fall over dead: Cyclops looked like he'd been clubbed, then run over by a truck, _then _dropped out of an airplane window to subsequently bounce down the side of a mountain. And Logan-

Logan looked like a fucking skeleton from the waist up. Cyclops' eyeball infernos had done a number on his body, and by all accounts he looked like he ought to be a twitching zombie. However she found him instead still bounding on his feet. His carnage hadn't slowed him down in the least. He really was a terminator!

And then- there was Rouge.

Always, always Rouge.

That girl was a one-stop catastrophe waiting to explode. And there she sat, shrugging at the Mansion staff with an expression on her arched eyebrow that asked _Well? Ain't ya'll gonna' do somthin' bout this?_

They would deal their little cataclysm of destruction _after _they'd broken up the fight. It worked surprisingly easier than either woman had anticipated. All they'd needed to do was telepathically hypnotize Cyclops into sleep, (which was the easy part, given that a gentle flick probably would have made him pass out) and subdue Logan. The last part was much trickier.

But Adamantium made a good lighting rod, and it worked out okay. In thirty seconds Ororo was panting, but she had separated the men and neither looked like he might spring up again unexpectedly. Although- Logan had already begun his reconstructive healing. Now _THAT _was a freaky thing to witness!

Emma helped to steady Rouge on her feet while Ororo cradled the girl's face in her hands. Her lip looked like a blood balloon where it had swelled along the split. It would be days before she healed.

"Whui wwedy du woa nnow." Rouge mumbled, unable to form words around her injury.

"Ssh, don't try to talk." `Ro's pale eyebrows knit together with concern.

The girl grunted in obvious irritation, trying once again to unsuccessfully communicate. Her eyes flashed as she thought up an idea: She tried pinching her fat lip between her forefinger and thumb to keep the sound from being confounded. Success! It worked! She kept her lip pinched and very slowly, very carefully explained to Ororo and Emma what she needed:

"Have someone carry Logan out to a car before he wakes up and kills us all. We're leaving the mansion."

She knew she wouldn't start feeling better until this cursed place was a tiny spec in her rearview mirror.


End file.
